


Celebrate

by LuminousLawliet



Category: Death Note, Death Note: Another Note
Genre: Birthday Cake, Birthday Fluff, F/M, First Kiss, Goodbyes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-09
Updated: 2014-05-09
Packaged: 2018-01-24 02:14:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1587905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuminousLawliet/pseuds/LuminousLawliet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Naomi helps L celebrate his birthday, but he wants a little more from her than just chocolate cake.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Celebrate

Case closed.

That was it. My bags had been packed and I was ready to return home. I was craving a bowl of mom’s homemade miso, and in just over twenty four hours, she would have it waiting for me. The only thing I had left to do before making my way to the airport was to say goodbye to L. For months we had worked together on this case and now that it was solved, my contract was up and I was free to leave. I had to admit that I would miss L, which is something I hated to admit. He was a pain to work with but his strange quirks and boyish awkwardness had sort of grown on me.

I found him in the study as expected, sitting with his feet up in the plump leather chair in that strange little crouching position he claimed made him smarter. Next to him on the mahogany table sat an empty coffee cup and a big platter containing nothing but crumbs and spare traces of some kind of whipped icing.

“Miss Misora, you’re here early,” he addressed me, his dark and weary eyes never moving from the laptop screen they were attached to. 

“What are you doing?” I asked, knowing better than to do so but still a little curious. I could never figure him out. “The case is over.”

“Where one case closes another opens,” he droned, his voice like liquid gold and espresso. “A great detective’s work is never done. Never.”

“Do you know what today is?”

L absentmindedly clicked around on the laptop and sighed. “October 31st , known in some circles as Halloween. It’s also the day your flight was scheduled to take you back home to Japan, which would explain the suitcase.” How had he known I was wheeling my suitcase behind me if his back was turned to me during this entire exchange?

“It’s your birthday, L,” I corrected, moving closer to where he sat. He pivoted the chair to face me, looking up at me sadly.

“My birthday,” he started, trying to get a feel for the words. “I’m sorry, but you’ve taken me by surprise. I can never remember my birthday, nor how many years I’ve lived exactly. I have… I have no one to remind me.”

“Well, today is your birthday and you’re twenty three years old. It doesn’t take incredible detective work to know that.”

“I guess I’ve become so entangled in my own quest for heightened deductive reasoning skills that the simplest of things have become lost to me,” L answered, defeated. 

“Why don’t we have a little celebration before I leave?” I said cheerfully, opening the cardboard box I snuck into the room, revealing a small cake. 

“Chocolate torte!” L exclaimed, clapping his bony little hands together. “My absolute favorite of all time! This truly is a great day.”

Watari the butler brought fresh coffee for L and me and we shared his birthday cake, laughing and having an enjoyable conversation not as colleagues this time, but as friends. I looked down at my watch and noticed it was nearly time for me to catch a taxi for the airport. I gulped, dreading telling L that it was time for me to go. For once, he seemed so happy; so alive.

“It’s time for you to go now, isn’t it?” he exhaled. I was saddened that what he said was the truth but a little relieved that I didn’t have to be the one to say it. 

“I’m afraid so,” I replied. As a rose from the chair, L clung to my wrist like an abandoned child.

“Miss Misora, could you humor me with one more request before you go? It is my birthday, after all.” There was that smile again. There was something about L’s smile that I just couldn’t resist. 

“Sure, if it’s something I can do quickly,” I answered hurriedly. I really didn’t have time for this but seeing as it might be the last time I’d ever see L, I was willing to oblige.

“How about a goodbye kiss?” he inquired. 

“A what?” I panted, jumping back. 

“Yeah, maybe it is ridiculous,” L admitted, looking down and twirling his black hair with his index finger. “But in some cultures, hello and goodbye kisses are quite normal. There’s also the fact that I’ve ever kissed anyone before and it’s a fascinating part of human interaction I’ve always wanted to investigate. If it’s an odd request, however, I won’t be emotionally damaged if you decline.”

“Come on, L! After I brought you cake and everything…”

“I require cake and sugary things for sustenance,” L explained with utmost serious. “Cake and sugar are my most basic needs. This would be my true birthday gift from you.”

I looked down at my watch again. Only a few seconds had passed but they felt like forever. It was now or never. If I said yes, I would have to live with the awkwardness of having kissed my colleague. If I said no, I would have to live with the guilt of denying such a sweet and terribly lonely guy such a tiny request.

“Alright, fine,” I moaned. “I’ll do it. But cover the security cameras or whatever so Watari doesn’t see. This stays between us, got it?”

“Of course!” he replied sharply. He stood as straight as he could and clasped his cold hands around my waist, staring hard into my eyes like he was in deep thought.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, puzzled. “Aren’t you going to do it?”

L stepped back and squinted at me. “This isn’t right,” he deduced. “My deductive reasoning skills tell me that if I adjust the position of my hands by 45%, perhaps I might be able to take your breath away.”

“Can we just get this over with?” I whined with exasperation.

“Yes. We can. I think I’ve got it,” he grinned. He approached me again, this time putting his hands into my hair as he pulled me into him. Then, it happened. L kissed me. He tasted like spun sugar and strawberries, and I felt the chills rising atop my skin as he ran his fingernails through the back of my hair. It was incredible. It lasted all but a second, and as he pulled away and released me, all I could do was stand there shell-shocked.

“You’re, uhh, you’re actually rather good at that,” I stammered as I blushed brightly.

L chuckled. “You think so? Well, I’ll use your response to help me with further research, not that I expect to ever have much need for that sort of research in the future. I really just wanted to experience what it was like, so thank you.”

“Sure,” I mumbled, not sure what to say. “I guess I should go now. I don’t want to miss my flight.”

“Right,” L replied, crouching back down in the chair. “Please keep in touch, if you can. I’m going to miss having a friend around.”

“We’ll always be friends, got it?” I affirmed with a smile. “Take care, L, and have a happy birthday.”

He turned back around in the chair with his back to me, raising his hand to wave goodbye. “Farewell, my one and only friend,” he said sadly.

As I sat in the taxi en route to the airport I couldn’t tell if I was trembling from the magnitude of that kiss, or the pain my heart was feeling in having to leave L behind.


End file.
